“Eating Gelato For Israel – And Other Ways To Fight Back Against The Nazis Among Us,”
November 24, 2023
Unraveling Anti-Israel Protests Across Canada: From Intimidation to Terrorism Advocacy
Menu
Popular Articles
Read More »
A Mother’s Courage: Renana’s 12-Hour Journey To Bring Her Kidnapped Sons Home
November 24, 2023
First person: Her sons might have been taken by one of the world’s most brutal terrorist organizations, but Renana Gome remains undeterred; She goes wherever she needs to, turning heaven and earth, to bring her sons back into her arms.
Dennis Ross Tries To Save Hamas
November 24, 2023
Ross Advocates Allowing Hamas Leadership to Leave Gaza in Exchange for Remaining Hostages
Stopping Antisemitism Needs More Than A Successful Rally
November 24, 2023
The “March for Israel” in Washington, D.C., was a great response to pro-Hamas mobs. But ending the source of a rising tide of Jew-hatred requires opposing the woke ideology that created it.
Jewish Physicians At The University Of Toronto Speak Out Against Antisemitism
November 24, 2023
Over 550 Doctors Assert Their Right to Openly Identify as Zionists Amid Rising Antisemitism
Bethlehem Removes Christmas Decorations In Honor Of Gaza ‘Martyrs’
November 24, 2023
The traditional Christmas mass and prayers will still take place, but without Christmas trees or festive lights.
The Racism Of Woke Progressivism
November 24, 2023
The root of all modern-day evils for the new left is colonialism, and Israel is, they claim, a colonialist power.
Sincere Or Sanctimonious?
November 24, 2023
Will we sell our souls to claim the moral high ground?
‘Globalized Intifada’: Shootings, A Firebombing And Vandalism Rock Montreal
November 24, 2023
“This is in fact the actualization of a globalized intifada through violence,” said the president of Federation CJA of the sharp spike in antisemitism since Oct. 7.
Church Rushes Ambulance To Israel In Response To Hamas Attacks
November 24, 2023
“We knew there was an urgent need to replace ambulances that were stolen and destroyed. To know ours is part of this historic effort is incredibly gratifying,” said Pastor Larry Huch.
Previous
Next
Previous
Next
In a talk to 500 viewers after her bombshell resignation as a New York Times editorial writer, Weiss proclaims: “It’s not enough for a Jew to be an anti-antisemite, we were put on earth to be Jews.”
- 26 July 2020
- 4:18 pm
Click an icon above to share, email, or save this article
- 26 July 2020
- 4:18 pm
Bari Weiss speaking on Zoom for Montreal’s Federation CJA Community Recovery and Resilience Campaign on July 23, 2020.
Click an icon above to share, email, or save this article
The resignation of Bari Weiss reverberated around the world, after the New York Times op-ed editor and columnist published a scathing open letter July 14 on her website. In it, she said she experienced a toxic workplace environment, that included being called “Nazi and racist.”
Nine days later, Weiss was the featured speaker for Montreal’s Federation CJA Community Recovery and Resilience Campaign, July 23. The twenty-minute Zoom address covered a variety of topics, including the growth of antisemitism, and the importance of maintaining Jewish values.
This moment in history is “an inflection point for the Jewish people in the Diaspora,” said the author of How to Fight Anti-Semitism to 500 viewers.
Previous
Next
Previous
Next
“The word that has defined this crisis is ‘essential’: what is vital in this Jewish community? Is it essential to live a full Jewish life? Is it essential that no one in our communities go hungry? Fancy galas, as fun as they are, do not make the list,” she said.
“It is an opportunity for teshuva, a return to what matters. How do we decide what matters? Remembering what our ancestors endured – they were able to rebuild, and we must remember what they sacrificed for us to be here… it shakes us awake, the resilience, creativity, for us to be the luckiest Jews in history.”
Some comfort must be taken in knowing that this crisis will be surmounted, as Jews have survival in their DNA: “We are the people that have renewed, and rebuilt, out of the embers, more than any other people in all of human history.” It comes with an overarching theme: “Every Jew is responsible for one another.”
Get thej.ca a Pro Israel Voice by Email. Never miss a top story that effects you, your family & your community
Many of those lessons can be culled from Jewish history, she said, which is not merely to be perceived as a “remembrance of things past,” but a “moral manual. It’s a lighthouse. It’s a compass.”
“By any rule of history, we should have disappeared long ago. It seems to me this (survival) is an earthy miracle more astonishing than the parting of the Red Sea… our secret isn’t in our superhuman strength, or our ability to wield political power, but our values and our ideals: one God, Shabbat, the preciousness of human life,” she said.
Meanwhile, in terms of antisemitism, the incidents at the Times were only the latest that touched her personal life. A clear-eyed moment for her came after a spate of violent attacks against Jews in America.
Bari Weiss’ resignation heard around the world citing the toxic workplace environment, which included being called “Nazi and racist” by colleagues, as well as experiencing harassment for writing on Jewish topics.
Pittsburgh-raised, Weiss held her bat-mitzvah at Tree of Life synagogue, where on Oct. 2018, a shooter killed eleven congregants. Her father knew six of the murdered.
“It transformed me. Not that I didn’t know antisemitism wasn’t on the rise. (I thought) America, by its exceptional nature, might have been inoculated by this terrible (hate) virus,” she said.
In recent years that virus has spread farther, with examples she cited of the synagogue shooting in Poway, California, in April 2019, and the uptick in attacks against Jews in New York.
“It made me realize that antisemitism was alive and well, in a country that my grandparents taught me was the ‘new Jerusalem,’” she said. Before the wake-up call, she once believed “liberalism won, and now I got to enjoy its fruits… no, we’re very much living in history (repeating).”
In a series of tweets on June 4, 2020, Bari Weiss details the environment she witnessed during her tenure at the New York Times
In her own life, she noted how she was often a target of antisemitism, and received death threats. Ironically, these were some “motivating factors that inspired me to draw closer to Judaism.”
“I feel like I have a permanent kippah attached to my head at all times, as anyone who wears their Judaism at all times… I feel like I have to act like mensch, and in a way that reflects well on all of us,” she said.
And yet, a caveat: the entire purpose of living a vibrant Jewish life is not to be re-active, but pro-active, she asserted.
“It’s not enough for a Jew to be an anti-antisemite,” she said. “We were put on earth to be Jews. The more deeply I connected to my own Judaism, Jewish history, the stronger my conviction has become.”
“I am just extremely clear on who I am, what I’m about, and what I’m fighting for.”
Dave Gordon is the managing editor of TheJ.ca. His work has appeared in more than a hundred media around the world, including all of the Toronto dailies, BBC, Washington Times, and UK Guardian.
Click an icon above to share, email, or save this article
Click an icon above to share, email, or save this article
Previous
Next
Previous
Next
Read More
Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
Sponsored Content
LATEST ARTICLES
cOMING SOON…….
Breaking News
Recent
Features
News
Current Events
Opinions
Politics
Religion
Culture
Memoriam and Obituaries
PodcastS
Subscribe Now
Receive the latest in community & international Jewish news direct to your inbox